Pike effect

[mike1234]

Over the last 2 Autumn/Winters i have fished a larger deep lake with a small feeder with a few red maggots and a bit of ground bait and a lob worm on the hook which produced some quality perch and bream,

 

but this year it seems a lot slower, on thursday morning i arrived at the lake at dawn and had a slow morning with only a few knocks on the tip when about lunch time my quiver tip seemed to pull round in a stabbing fashion and i pulled in a small jack pike around 2lb

 

just as i was thinking of packing up the tip pulled round fast and then dropped back and i sat with my hand hovering over the rod waiting for another take, then the tip moved again and i struck and straight away i knew it was another pike

 

even though they was not what i was targeting i still had fun catching them on light tackle but couldnt help wondering if the presence was putting off the other fish? I have never hooked a pike in there before on worm and then had 2 in one session, 12 hours on the bank usually produces a few more fish on that water

 

i noticed in the summer months that there was a lot more fry than previous years so perhaps there as been alot more food for more jacks

 

but would these small pike scare off large bream and perch ?

[Vagabond]

I would be more inclined to put it down to weather/barometric conditions.

 

Falling or steady low barometer - good for silvers and perch - not so good for pike

 

Rising or steady high barometer - good for pike - not so good for silvers and perch.

 

There are exceptions of course, but rarely do I find jack pike turning up in a mixed bag

[wayne baker]

I would say possibly you just had one of those days. If you didnt catch any fish other than the pike, It was likely there were none in the swim. This time of year pike do tend to congregate more and shadow the shoals of fodder fish as they themselves tend to shoal tighter.

It not uncommon to catch small pike on worms and maggots I have caught quite a few over the years when chubbing. I have even had them on bread flake. But if you were getting takes on the worm its likely theres was no other food in he swim for them. As far as pike scaring fish off i would say it depends, If there are quite a few pike in the swim and they are actively attacking then i think yes but most pike lie in wait and for a passing meal and mostly go un noticed until its to late.

On gravel pit i fish in the winter is quite a hard water to locate the pike,Until we have had a few frosts Then it seems that every pike in the pit congregate on the western bank were most of the fodder fish shoal up for the winter. For a couple for a couple of weeks the pike are there and easy to catch. Then they all disapear again for the rest of the winter. Its almost like they have a good old feed up and then slip away and sulk for the rest of the winter.

[mike1234]

Thanks for the replies i suppose the only reason its never happened before is that something else as always picked up the worm first. i will hopefully be out somewhere this thursday so might give the place another go and try another swim,

 

the swim i was fishing in has a long deep channel where the fish seem to patrol so i suppose it would also make a good place for a pike to ambush them

 

i might give the lake another go this week and if i get the same results i might invest in some wire trace and lures and have a go for pike

[The Flying Tench]

There was a shoal of chub I used to observe a few years ago. On one occasion I saw there was a jack, about 2lb like the chub (although some of the chub were bigger) that had taken residence and seemed to be accepted as one of the shoal. I guess this is a bit of evidence that fish are not scared by pike if tehy are about he same size.

[Dales]

There was a shoal of chub I used to observe a few years ago. On one occasion I saw there was a jack, about 2lb like the chub (although some of the chub were bigger) that had taken residence and seemed to be accepted as one of the shoal. I guess this is a bit of evidence that fish are not scared by pike if tehy are about he same size.

 

I have seen something similar myself while fishing the Little Brosna in Ireland, the water was very clear and I could see two small Jack Pike, one around 2lb and the other about 5lb lying up in an undercut in the bank side. There was a shoal of around 50 small Perch around 3 to 4 inches swimming along side them. The Perch did not seem bothered by the Pike's presence.

 

I was surprised to see 2 Pike together for a start and it looked like the bigger one would have no problem in swallowing the small chap, but to see such a big shoal of Perch darting out in to the main flow and then coming back to lie up with the Pike seemed very odd. I could understand that as predators they may well hang out in the same spots, but it seemed a dangerous place to be for a little Perch.

 

Were the Pike in the swim because the Perch as prey fish were there? Had the Pike had there fill of Perch already? Could the Perch tell that the Pike were unlikely to feed? Or were these Perch to small to have learned that hanging around Pike is a stupid thing to do.

 

On another occasion on the same river I saw trout lying up with a double figure Pike, which has led me to suggest that it may only be active feeding Pike that spook prey fish.

[wayne baker]

There was a shoal of chub I used to observe a few years ago. On one occasion I saw there was a jack, about 2lb like the chub (although some of the chub were bigger) that had taken residence and seemed to be accepted as one of the shoal. I guess this is a bit of evidence that fish are not scared by pike if tehy are about he same size.

 

 

I have seen something similar myself while fishing the Little Brosna in Ireland, the water was very clear and I could see two small Jack Pike, one around 2lb and the other about 5lb lying up in an undercut in the bank side. There was a shoal of around 50 small Perch around 3 to 4 inches swimming along side them. The Perch did not seem bothered by the Pike's presence.

 

I was surprised to see 2 Pike together for a start and it looked like the bigger one would have no problem in swallowing the small chap, but to see such a big shoal of Perch darting out in to the main flow and then coming back to lie up with the Pike seemed very odd. I could understand that as predators they may well hang out in the same spots, but it seemed a dangerous place to be for a little Perch.

 

Were the Pike in the swim because the Perch as prey fish were there? Had the Pike had there fill of Perch already? Could the Perch tell that the Pike were unlikely to feed? Or were these Perch to small to have learned that hanging around Pike is a stupid thing to do.

 

On another occasion on the same river I saw trout lying up with a double figure Pike, which has led me to suggest that it may only be active feeding Pike that spook prey fish.

 

I have made similar observations over the years. I have often wondered if theres is some strange fishy kind of understanding of each other.

 

Abit like the antilope in Africa. They graze quite happily even when hey know the predators are about. Such as lions and cheetahs. Maybe its a safety in numbers thing and they take there chances. But do fish have an inbuilt awareness of predation or are they unaware until its to late?

[Anderoo]

I don't think prey fish are always scared or wary of predators. I have seen small fish swimming happily around pike, completely ignoring it. A pike (or perch) on the prowl is probably a different matter. It could be like prey animals in Africa - they know when the lions have eaten

 

I bet not many small fish get eaten by predators they can see. A visible predator out in the open is probably no real threat. Although as pike have no shoaling instinct (that I know of?) I can't think why one would befriend chub!

[Steve Walker]

When I was a kid, my uncle and aunt had a house on the banks of the Severn, with fishing on one swim (sadly, they have since moved, and will not be leaving me the property ). I used to fish there in the summer holidays. The river there is wide, very fast and fairly shallow, and their swim was immediately downstream of an island. One particular year, the river was low and the weather was warm, and the wind was blowing gently upstream, and the chub and dace fishing was excellent with a wire stemmed stick float in the fast water. The silver fish were definitely on the feed, but so were the pike, and I lost several fish in the margins to them - including one that burst head and shoulders out of the water to take a chub I was netting, nearly giving me a heart attack in the process.

 

I think on that occasion the conditions conspired to push predators and prey together.

[Dick Dastardly]

I don't think prey fish are always scared or wary of predators.

 

No they definately know when the preds are hungry/feeding or not.

 

Ive not bothered replying till now as to be honest I think Daves initial reply summed it all up.